Who'd Wanna Marry A Saloon Girl Anyway
by Toonces
Summary: An old friend of Matt's visits and he doesn't approve of Kitty.


Author's Notes: Thanks for all of the kind comments on my first story. I hope you enjoy this one as well.

Gunsmoke: _Who'd Wanna Marry a Saloon Girl Anyway?_

Matt held on to Kitty's smooth hips, guiding her, as she slowly moved back and forth against him. She was looking down at him with half lidded eyes and he couldn't help the deep groan that escaped him. She was _so_ beautiful. Kitty ran her hands over his huge, strong chest and then leaned down and gave him a deep kiss. Matt felt her tongue running over his lips and he opened to accept her. He felt her breasts moving against his chest and it brought him even closer. Kitty's hips began to move faster and he could tell that she was almost there. Matt always tried to make sure that her needs were taken care of before his own. He heard Kitty's soft moans as she kissed his neck and he grabbed her in his arms and rolled over on top of her. Matt rocked his hips harder against her and he felt her go over the edge with a deep moan. He was right behind her. Matt rolled over as to not crush Kitty and pulled her into his arms.

"I guess you really missed me, huh?" said Kitty breathily, mischievously, as she snuggled closer to him. She had been out of town for nearly two weeks visiting a friend who had just had a baby. Her husband was a business man who had to travel a lot and she needed help getting settled with her new daughter.

"You know it," Matt said as he ran his hand through her hair and leaned in to kiss her. "Two weeks is a long time."

"Yeah, I know," said a sleepy Kitty. "I missed you, too."

When Kitty got off the stage earlier that day, the first thing she did was drop off her luggage and find something to eat. She only had a small breakfast before hand and she was famished. The next order of business was a bath and then a nap. She hadn't realized that she was so tired. It was dark by the time she woke up and she only woke up because of the noise from downstairs. Many times she had thought about moving out of the Long Branch, especially since she and Matt were now an item. They didn't exactly keep their relationship a secret, but it would be nice to be able to be with him and not have to worry about half the town knowing it. Instead of going downstairs, she decided to stay in her room for the rest of the night. It was already ten-thirty and the Long Branch would only be open for a couple more hours. Besides, she simply wanted to relax after her long trip. She arose from the warm bed and began brushing her hair. There was a soft knock at her door and she was sure she would have missed it had she been asleep. She went over to unlock it and just as she suspected it was Matt with a small dinner basket in his hand. He gave her a huge smile and she pulled him into the room. Now, here they were.

"There's someone I want you to meet tomorrow," said Matt.

"Oh, yeah? Who?" asked a more awake Kitty. She lay with her head propped up against her hand looking down at Matt who was still on his back.

"His name's Chad Everett. We go way back," said Matt smiling at the thought of his longtime friend. "He arrived in town about three days after you left."

"Is he plannin' on staying in Dodge?" asked Kitty.

"I'm not sure. He sure didn't act like he had anywhere to be. He's stayin' over at the Dodge House while he's here. I thought maybe we could all have breakfast tomorrow."

"Sounds good," said Kitty as she lay back down pulling the covers up. "We better get some rest if we wanna be on time."

"Hey, wait a minute. I'm not done with you yet, woman," said Matt as he playfully pulled her to him.

"You're dyed-in-the-wool tonight," said an equally playful Kitty. Matt pulled her down for a slow kiss.

"Well…we don't have to be up _that_ early."

The next morning, Matt was up before Kitty, which was no surprise. She fleetingly remembered a soft kiss on her lips and then the sound of the door closing. She slowly blinked her eyes open and squinted against the bright sun that peeked around the edges of the curtains. Rolling over onto her back and giving a cat-like stretch, Kitty stood from the bed feeling pretty well rested. She went into her bathing room for a quick wash up figuring that Matt would be back to collect her when it was time for breakfast.

Finally dressed, Kitty checked her appearance in the mirror one last time before heading downstairs. She wore a beautiful purple and white dress with a matching hat and handbag. Matt hadn't come back for her yet and she assumed that he had probably gotten busy with work so she decided to stroll toward the jailhouse thinking that perhaps she would see him on the way. Just as she was walking past the general store she noticed someone fall into step with her. "Why hello there, miss," said the man with a tip of his hat. Kitty looked over into a pair of hazel eyes. The fellow was tall with light blond hair and he had a sly smile on his face. There was something about him that Kitty immediately distrusted. She gave him an un-encouraging smile and continued walking. "I saw you come outta' the Long Branch. Kinda hard to miss ya with that pretty red hair and all. No lady as beautiful as you should be hangin' out in a dump like that," said the man. Kitty was starting to feel pestered. "How's about you an' me gettin' to know each other a little better, hm?"

She stopped and turned toward him. "Look mister, I'm not interested and I haven't got time to listen to any of your smooth talk, so if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way," she said tightly. Kitty turned to continue forward but was stopped by a firm hand holding her arm.

"Well, I guess you ain't as pretty as I thought you were," he spat as she yanked her arm away from him. "Maybe you do belong in a saloon. I can think of a few reasons that you could be used for in there," he finished with a nasty grin. Kitty ignored him and continued on.

Matt sat at his desk speedily writing a note that he needed to take over to the telegraph office and have sent. He was just finishing when the door opened and in walked Kitty. Her mouth was tight and he could tell by the set of her jaw and the fire in her eyes that she wasn't happy. "Kitty, I was just coming for you." She walked over and stood in front of his desk. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," she began sarcastically. "Dodge is just a _marvelous_ city filled with most _marvelous_ men. I don't know why I ever thought about leavin' such a wonderful place." Needless to say, Kitty was pissed.

"Well, what happened?" Matt asked as he stood up and walked around to stand in front of her.

"Just some jerk on the street who doesn't know how to keep his nasty mouth shut."

"He didn't hurt you did he?"

"No, I'm fine. Let's just forget about it and have a pleasant day. It wasn't the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last." Kitty said taking a deep breath to calm down. "What's been keeping you?" she asked trying to change the subject.

Matt decided to let things be. He would talk to her about it more later on. "I just remembered I needed to get this telegram sent and earlier I had to teach some kids a lesson when they tried to steal some candy from Jonas," Matt told her. It got a small smile out of her. He motioned toward the door and ushered Kitty out ahead of him as he grabbed his hat off the hook.

They walked quietly toward the telegraph office. "Ya know, I remember when I was about seven years old I stole a peppermint stick from the store." Matt looked at Kitty surprised.

"My woman is a thief!" he joked. Kitty smacked his arm lightly and smiled.

"Anyway, Mother wouldn't let me have any, but I wanted it _so_ bad. I waited until she and Mr. Gifford were busy with the order and then I took one from the jar and hid it up my sleeve. I was as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs." Matt chuckled. "Finally, they got done and we left. I went straight to my room and hid it in the drawer."

Matt smiled affectionately as he listened to Kitty talk and he tried to imagine her as a young freckle faced girl. He would have loved to have known her when she was younger. Matt knew how to stick up for himself as a kid, but he was pretty quiet and he imagined that Kitty was anything but. She would have probably had him wrapped around her little finger if they had known each other as kids. "So then what happened?" he asked, interested to know the rest of the story.

"Well, I didn't get to eat it right away because I had chores and later on I heard Mother talking to a neighbor about how someone broke into Mr. and Mrs. Bernard's home and stole some jewelry and money. Then she went on to talk about how stealin' was such a terrible thing. Needless to say, I felt guilty so I took it and buried it in the flowerbed. Then I went back in the house and got in trouble for gettin' my dress dirty," Kitty finished with a wry smile. Matt laughed and they continued on to the telegraph office.

They were seated at a table in Delmonico's waiting for Chad to arrive. "So, where do you two know each other from?" asked a curious Kitty.

"I've known him since I was about thirteen years old. He was sixteen and I thought he was just the greatest," Matt told her smiling. Kitty could see that he still thought the world of him.

"You really looked up to him, huh?"

"Yeah. He could ride, rope, and shoot better than any kid I had ever seen. I started following him around and eventually we became good friends. He was real protective of me." Matt looked over bashfully at Kitty. "He also used tell me all the dirty jokes that he had overheard his uncle saying." Kitty only shook her head and laughed. She was sure that she had probably heard all of those jokes and more, involuntarily of course, from working in the Long Branch. Her eyes caught movement at the entrance and she looked up to see the man she'd had words with earlier walking in. Matt noticed her looking and looked over himself. Kitty looked back at Matt and saw the huge smile that spread across his face. He stood up and greeted the man as he came over to the table. "Kitty, this is Chad," Matt introduced. Kitty couldn't believe her bad luck. It was quite obvious that Matt was delighted to see Chad and she figured that she could do what was necessary to make sure Matt didn't find out that Chad was the one who was so rude to her on the street. After all, he probably wouldn't be in Dodge forever so she chose to try and forget about the incident. She plastered on a spurious smile and greeted Chad.

"It's nice to meet you, Chad," she said looking him dead in the eyes. Chad tipped his hat and Kitty could see that he had taken her cue.

"Pleasure's entirely mine, _ma'am_." Kitty's stomach lurched at the _charm_ in his voice. It would be hard to forget what he said to her on the street, but she would do it if it meant keeping Matt happy. She didn't want to stand in between their friendship.

Matt seemed oblivious enough and they all sat down to finally eat. Chad was pleasant enough throughout and it was almost enough to forget that he was so rude earlier…almost. She still had a bad feeling about him.

Kitty was mostly quiet as she listened to Matt and Chad catch up. "Kitty here owns the Long Branch," Matt told Chad. Kitty smiled, touched because it seemed Matt was actually bragging about it.

"Is that so?" asked Chad remembering that he had referred to it as a dump earlier. "Seems like a tough kind of business for a woman," he commented. Kitty played it cool, entirely used to the doubt most had, men and women, about her being able to run a saloon. She was about to respond when Matt spoke.

"She's a tough kind of woman." He looked over at Kitty and smiled. Kitty knew that Matt was proud of her, but she wasn't used to him complementing her so often in front of others. He usually saved all of the sweet talk for when they were alone.

"Well, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I need to get to work," Kitty said noting the time. Both men stood as she rose. She looked up and addressed Chad. "It was nice to meet you, Chad."

"We'll probably see you later on, Kitty," said Matt.

"Alright," Kitty smiled as she picked up her handbag. "I'll see you later then," she said giving his arm a small squeeze. They watched her walk away one gaze filled with love and the other filled with menace.

"That's some woman you got there," said Chad as they sat back down.

"Yep," said Matt as he took a swallow of his coffee. "Kitty is something special."

"It doesn't bother you…her bein' a saloon woman?"

"Chad," Matt said looking straight at him, "Kitty is one of the finest people I know and she is just as much a lady as any woman in this town…probably even more of one."

Chad could see that Matt was serious, but he wasn't so sure he agreed with the statement. "You gonna ask her to marry you then?"

Matt shot a look at him and took a deep breath. "You know the answer to that," said Matt knowing that Chad knew his reason's for not marrying. Chad knew that he was being nosey, but he had a feeling that there was a different reason Matt didn't ask Kitty to marry. Matt was a good man and he deserved better than that _woman_, thought Chad. Maybe it would be up to him to show Matt just what kind of woman she really was. _Would probably give it up at the drop of a hat_, thought Chad vulgarly. It was obvious to him that she wasn't any proper lady considering the way she had talked to him earlier and he wouldn't dare let his woman go out in a dress with such a low neckline. He and Matt finished their breakfast and made plans to meet for a drink later on.

She had just stepped out to get a bit of fresh air when she heard her name being called. "Kitty," said Doc as he shuffled across the street toward her.

"Hello, Doc. How have you been?" asked Kitty glad to see him.

"Well, I'm just fine. How about yourself? How was your trip?"

"It was fine. Lauren's little girl is just beautiful," Kitty told him.

"Glad to hear it. Say, I'm headin' over to Delmonico's for supper. Would you care to join me?"

"Actually, Doc, I already had an early supper. Why don't you come back when you're done and have a drink with me?" Kitty suggested.

"Sounds good to me. I'll see you later, Kitty." She watched Doc fondly as he shuffled off. It was nearing eight o'clock and Matt hadn't been by yet. She wasn't exactly bothered by the fact considering Chad would be coming with him. She still had a funny feeling about him, but aside from being a jackass he really hadn't done anything. She just hoped that Chad would leave town soon and hopefully without anymore incidents. Kitty watched as more and more men headed into the saloon and she followed getting back to work.

Doc had come into the saloon about forty-fives minutes later and he and Kitty stood at the end of the bar talking.

"So have you met this friend of Matt's yet?" He asked Kitty as he sipped on his beer.

"Yeah, I met him," she said in an unimpressed manner. Of course, Doc picked up on her tone.

"You don't sound like you care for him much," he said studying Kitty's face.

"Well, quite honestly, Doc, I don't." Kitty knew that she was supposed to be putting the situation behind her, but truth be told it still bothered her a little and she hadn't been able to talk to anybody about it either. She trusted Doc not to tell Matt about it if she didn't want him to though. "I actually met him before Matt officially introduced us. I was walking and he tried to smooth talk me…and that's putting it mildly."

"Oh, you don't have to say anything else. I know Kitty Russell doesn't put up with smooth talk from just anyone," Doc joked.

Kitty could only smile. "Yeah, well, there's only one man I'll let smooth talk me." Doc gave her a look. "Okay…two," Kitty laughed. "Chad didn't give up easily and the conversation didn't end on a pleasant note."

"He didn't hurt you did he?" Doc asked genuinely concerned.

"No, he didn't, but I wouldn't put it past him," Kitty said remembering how he had grabbed her. It was like he became vicious at the drop of a hat.

"Did you tell Matt about this?"

"No, and I'm not going to either. Hopefully this will just be a passing thing and Chad will be leavin' Dodge soon enough," Kitty said.

"Well…I hope you're right about that and I'll tell you Kitty…he was nice enough when I met him, but I think you're right. There's just something about him that doesn't add up. How long has it been since Matt last saw him?"

"I'm not sure exactly, but quite some time I think. The way Matt talks about him, you would think he was the greatest person in the world," said Kitty.

"Maybe he just isn't the same person Matt used to know." Doc finished the last of his beer as he and Kitty stood quietly contemplating.

"You want another, Doc?" offered Kitty.

"No thanks, Kitty. I gotta be out at the Anderson place early tomorrow. I think I'll go on home and turn in," Doc said as he checked his watch.

"Alright, Doc, I'm glad you stopped by."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Kitty."

Kitty felt much better now that she had told someone about it. She had dealt with rude and forceful men before so she didn't know why it bothered her so much this time. Maybe it was because she expected more from someone who called Matt their friend. He'd had some shady friends in the past…Dutch George, Hack Prine…but Chad…he had an aura about him that reeked of nothing but trouble. Maybe he was a good friend to Matt at one time, but something had definitely changed somewhere along the road. Kitty pushed the thoughts from her mind and busied herself with wiping down some glasses.

"Miss Kitty?" Sam called.

"What is it, Sam?"

"That gentlemen over there insists on buying you a drink," he said motioning toward the other end of the bar. Kitty looked over seeing Chad with a slimy smile on his face.

"Tell him I said no thanks," Kitty instructed as she turned the other way and continued working.

"Yes, ma'am."

A moment later, Kitty looked up at the sound of a voice next to her. "Now what would Matt think of you being less than accommodatin' to me?" Chad asked as he sipped his whiskey, his eyes never leaving Kitty. She gave him a cold stare noticing that his eyes were awful red.

"Matt knows that I don't accept drinks from strangers and besides, I'm busy."

"Oh, come on now. I would hardly call us strangers. Didn't we get to know each other well enough earlier?" he said as he poured himself another drink. Kitty said nothing. "What are you doin' with a _respectable_ man like Matt anyway? I would guess you would go for a more…oh…I don't know…_uncouth _kinda fella'." Kitty gave a short guffaw at his choice of words even though she wasn't in the least bit amused. He was simply unbelievable. She knew that he was trying to goad her, but she refused to take the bait. "You're a beautiful woman, Kitty. It just seems like there would be _lots_ of men who would enjoy your company." She didn't miss the meaning behind his words. Chad only stared at her and then took his bottle and went to a table. Kitty couldn't wait until he left town.

"Miss Kitty," Louie Pheeters said as slid into the spot where Chad was. The place was getting crowded fast.

"What is it Louie?" Kitty said distracted.

"Is that man bothering you?" He wasn't going to stand by and let anyone talk bad about Miss Kitty.

"It's nothing I can't handle, Louie," Kitty told him with a small smile.

"He's the marshal's friend isn't he?"

"Yeah…he's the marshal's friend."

"I don't like that man, Miss Kitty. The day before yesterday, he pushed me in the street when I accidentally bumped into him. It was an accident, Miss Kitty. I didn't mean the man any harm. And a few days before that, in The Oasis, he was rough with one of the girls. He's no gentleman, Miss Kitty. There's something wrong with him," Louie finished.

_Even the town drunk notices it_, thought Kitty. "It's alright Louie. He'll probably be leavin' Dodge soon anyway. We'll just try and steer clear of him until then," Kitty said reassuring him. Louie nodded and left the bar getting lost in the crowd. Kitty began to think that maybe she should say something to Matt about it all. She sighed and headed to the other end of the bar to help Sam.

By the time Matt arrived it was still crowded and there was still plenty of chatter, mirth, smoke, and piano music in the air. He looked around for Kitty, but he didn't see her. He made his way over to the bar to talk to Sam. "Hi, Sam. Where's Kitty?"

"Good evenin', Marshal. Miss Kitty went down to the cellar." Matt thanked him and made his way down.

"Kitty, you down here?" he called as he walked down the stairs.

"Over here," he heard her say. He looked around with little help from the small lamp that sat on a table and spotted her across the room.

"How can you see anything down here?" he asked as he came to stand next to her. She had a clipboard in her hand, obviously taking stock. He watched her face as she wrote and checked. He was mighty glad to see her after such a long day.

"I barely can," she replied as she looked up at him with a smile. She was glad to see him, too. She sat the clipboard down on the table and walked back to him for a hug. Matt gladly held her and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Busy day for you, huh?" asked Kitty. She normally saw him at least once throughout the daytime, but today she hadn't seen him since breakfast.

"Yeah. I just got back into town, actually. I had to ride out to the Jessup farm and see about some horses that might have been stolen, though from the looks of things they might have just escaped," Matt told her. "Looks like you've been having a pretty busy day yourself."

"Yeah, and I can't wait until it's over. I think I'm still tired from my trip," she said, enjoying the feel of Matt's arms around her, his hand rubbing her back.

"Then I'm sure last night didn't help you rest any either," said Matt sheepishly.

"Oh, it helped alright," Kitty laughed quietly. "Believe me." Matt leaned down and gave her long, languid kiss. Kitty certainly had no objections and she relaxed into him. When he finally pulled away, they were both out of breath.

"That definitely hits the spot after a long day," said Matt with a cheeky smile.

"Oh? How about a beer to go with it?" suggested Kitty with a raised eyebrow.

"Sounds good to me," said Matt smiling. He took Kitty's hand and led her to the stairs. "Have you seen Chad tonight?" he asked over his shoulder.

Kitty rolled her eyes and answered, "Yeah, he came in earlier and took a table." She stepped in front of Matt and started up the stairs.

"Why don't we go and join him?" Matt said.

"Sure, you go and find him and I'll bring the beers over." They exited the cellar and Kitty went to the bar while Matt looked for Chad. He spotted him in the back with a half a bottle of whiskey in front of him.

"Chad," Matt said as he smiled at his friend and sat down.

"It's about time, Matt," he said good-naturedly. "Sit down. Have some whiskey with me."

"No thanks, Chad. Kitty is bringing over some beer."

"Well, I guess she's gotta be good for something," snickered Chad. Matt didn't appreciate the comment, but he didn't say anything figuring that Chad was a bit tipsy. Kitty walked over then and sat one of the beers down in front of Matt. She sat hers down, too and pulled her chair closer to his. It didn't go unnoticed.

"Thanks Kitty," Matt said taking a drink.

"So," said Kitty starting the conversation, "How long are you gonna be staying in Dodge?" she asked truly wanting to know.

"Not to much longer I reckon…maybe another day or so." _I'll be leavin' just as soon as I take care of you_, he thought to himself.

"What are you gonna do with yourself, Chad?" Matt asked taking another swig of his beer.

"Oh, I don't know. I got a little money I can live off of for a while. Maybe I'll just wander," he laughed. The three sat for a good while longer. Surprisingly, most of the conversation was between Kitty and Matt. Chad participated occasionally, but mostly he was quiet. Kitty found it a bit unnerving.

Chad had finished his bottle of whiskey. Matt was just finishing his second beer. "Well, I had better go and make my rounds," said Matt with a sigh. Kitty could tell that he was really tired.

"Come on, Matt, I'll walk you out," she said as they stood from the table.

"I think I'll be headin' out, too," said Chad slowly rising. Kitty was glad to hear it. She didn't want to spend anymore time with him than she had to. They all headed for the door. Chad said his goodnights and left Matt and Kitty standing there.

"Say Kitty? Have you seen anymore of that man from this morning?" Matt asked.

Kitty wanted to tell him right then, but she figured that it was a conversation they should have when they were alone. "Actually, I have, but I'll tell you about it later on."

"Well, I'll be back before closing then."

"Alright, Matt, I'll see you later," Kitty said, giving his hand a brief squeeze. She watched him walk away and turned to go back inside. Her eye caught a few empty bottles littering the boardwalk and she went over to them to put them in the alley. She was a stickler when it came to keeping her part of the boardwalk clean. _Sam can attest to that_, Kitty thought with a smile. She made her way around the corner of the building and dropped the bottles into the trash barrel. As she turned to leave, she heard a rustling further back in the alley. She looked, but didn't see anything. Shrugging it off, she again turned to go, but this time she was stopped by a strong arm wrapping around her waist and a rough hand covering her mouth. Her eyes went wide with fear and she struggled against her captor. She was drug further into the alley and then suddenly she was let go. Her balance was lost and she fell onto a stack of crates. She whirled around to see who had grabbed her and her eyes fell onto the smug face of Chad.

"Now Kitty, I don't know why you put up such a struggle. I'm sure you're used to men havin' their way with you," he remarked crudely.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Kitty asked breathing heavily. She stood and tried to run away, but Chad grabbed her and flung her back.

"You're nothin' but a filthy whore and I'm gonna prove it," he said pulling her against him. "You don't deserve a good man like Matt." Kitty could smell the heavy alcohol on his breath and immediately began to fight back. She guessed that he must have been drinking way before coming into the Long Branch.

"Chad, please don't do this! You're drunk!" she said desperately trying to reason with him. She felt his hands rubbing along her hips and chest and she fought even harder, not believing what was happening. She new there was something about Chad, but she would have never pegged him for a rapist. Kitty screamed out with all her might in hope that someone would hear her over all of the saloon noise. She got a smack to the face for her efforts and a hand clamped down over her mouth. "Shut up you bitch!" Kitty was beginning to weaken from the fight and her eyes began tear. She couldn't believe it.

Suddenly, Chad was wrenched away from her and she scrambled to get away as she heard a scuffle behind her. She screamed and screamed and turned to fight when she felt hands grabbing her arms. "Kitty! Kitty, it's me…calm down." She immediately recognized the voice and turned around with a surprised expression.

"Oh, Matt!" she cried as she fell into his arms. She had never been so scared. Matt held her tightly as he looked over at the unconscious form of Chad. Kitty pulled back and looked up at him seeing the pain and confusion on his face. She realized that there was a crowd now watching them and she buried her face back into Matt's chest as he led her away from the scene. There was going to be a lot of explaining.

Matt was thoroughly confused as he led Kitty to her room.

He was just passing the Bulls Head when he had heard a woman's scream. Running back the way he had just come, he tried to listen for it again, but it was hard to hear over all of the saloon noise. He was just about to start looking elsewhere when he heard the deep voice of a man yelling in the alley of the Long Branch. He ran toward it and saw Chad struggling with Kitty. He saw red as he ran over and yanked Chad off of her. It didn't matter who it was. All he knew was that he was hurting Kitty. Matt buried his fist in Chad's stomach and then connected with his jaw. Chad dropped like a rock, the alcohol he had consumed not helping him any. He turned to see Kitty trying to get away and he went over to her to make sure she was alright.

"Matt?" Kitty said. Her voice was hoarse. Matt came out of his thoughts and helped her to sit in a chair. He then went over to her private stock and poured her a drink to help her calm down. Kitty watched him as he brought the drink to her. She knew he was confused and that she needed to explain things to him.

He came and kneeled down in front of her. "Kitty, I need to get back out there. Will, you be okay here? Do you need me to send Doc up?" Matt asked, his eyes full of concern.

"I'll be alright, Matt," she told him softly. "You go on. We'll talk about all this when you get back," she said touching his face. He nodded and stood heading toward the door. Kitty watched as he hesitated a moment and then turned around to face her.

"Chad is the man you were telling me about this morning isn't he?" Kitty slowly nodded as she cast her eyes toward the floor. "I'll be back as soon as I can," Matt said softly and closed the door.

Kitty sighed and sank back into the chair. She was exhausted both mentally and physically. When she was away visiting Lauren, she had thought about staying a few extra days, but decided against it. Now, she wished she had. Maybe that way she would have missed Chad and none of this would have happened. She also wished she had told Matt the truth from the beginning. It was surely worse him finding out this way.

When Matt got back out to the street, he learned that Chester and a few other men had already taken the unconscious Chad over to the jail. It was for his own protection, too. As he walked to the jailhouse, he had to listen to all of the threats against Chad for hurting Miss Kitty. He didn't blame any of them. Louie Pheeters had then come up to him asking about her.

"Marshal…Marshal…is Miss Kitty alright? I tried to tell her about that man, Marshal. I know he's your friend, but he isn't a nice man." Louie then proceeded to tell the Marshal about the incident in The Oasis and what he saw in the Long Branch.

"Why didn't anyone come to me with this?" Matt said frustrated. Friend or not, if Chad was being a trouble maker then he would want to know about it.

"Well, Marshal…he was your friend…and you spoke so good about him…" Louie trailed off not really having an answer. Matt continued on to the jail leaving Louie standing there.

It was approaching two o'clock in the morning when things had finally settled down. Chad had come to a few times, mostly sputtering nonsense about only trying to protect Matt…trying to show him what kind of person that woman really was, he had said. As it turned out, Chad only showed what kind of person _he_ really was. Matt walked along the deserted streets finishing his rounds from earlier. He knew that he needed to go and be with Kitty, but if he was honest with himself he was a little embarrassed at Chad's behavior. All this time he had been speaking so highly of him and it turned out he was nothing but scum. There had been more small incidents besides those of Kitty and Louie. What he couldn't understand was why no one told him about it…especially Kitty.

Matt quietly entered Kitty's room and found her still dressed, except for her shoes, sleeping on the made bed. He walked over and kneeled down next to her. He could see some bruising starting to form on her cheek and it broke his heart knowing who had caused it. He reached out and lightly shook her awake. Her eyes fluttered open and she began to sit up. "Matt…what time is it?" she asked.

"Almost three," he answered quietly. "Are you alright?"

Kitty looked at Matt's weary face and asked, "Are _you_ alright?" She watched as he stood and sat down on the bed beside her.

"Kitty why didn't you tell me it was him?" Matt asked her gently. He wasn't angry with her, but he just didn't understand.

"Oh, Matt. I'm so sorry that I didn't," she said with a sigh. "I didn't think that anything like this would happen. I didn't want to get in between your friendship with him…the way you talked about him…I know his friendship means a lot to you…"

"But you mean more to me, Kitty. If someone is bothering you I want to know about it. From now on, promise me that if anything like this ever happens again you'll tell me."

Kitty looked at him warmly. "I promise, Matt," she said as she leaned into him. He wrapped his arm around her, his hand rubbing her arm. "What's gonna happen to Chad?"

"Do you want to press charges against him?"

"What would you do with him if I don't?"

"I'd kick him outta Dodge and do my darndest to make sure he doesn't come back."

"I just want him gone, Matt," Kitty said quietly. Matt gave her a tight squeeze and they sat quietly holding one another.

After he had made sure Kitty was safely tucked in, Matt made his way back toward the jail. He remembered something else Chad had slurred to him. _Who'd wanna marry a saloon girl anyway?_ A small smile spread across Matt's face and he thought to himself, _I would_.

The End


End file.
